Passing Time
by atypicalenthusiast
Summary: When Gold's mother decides to go on vacation, she leaves the house in Gold's care as a way of preparing him for life as a responsible young adult. Quickly bored with the task at hand, he convinces Silver to assist him during his time alone and things take a rather interesting turn.
1. The News

Passing Time - Chapter 01 - The News

Series: Pokemon Special (Adventures)

Ship: Preciousmetalshipping (Gold X Silver)

Rating: Mature

Story Summary: When Gold's mother decides to go on vacation, she leaves the house in Gold's care as a way of preparing him for life as a responsible young adult. Quickly bored with the task at hand, he convinces Silver to assist him during his time alone and things take a rather interesting turn.

Another dull afternoon fell upon Gold, who was beyond surprised he had survived the practically endless succession of days that led up to this one. In his room, he glared at the ceiling as he remained motionless on his bed. An unidentified egg sat next to him and silently rested in place as he rambled on about how his life currently lacked excitement.

"You know what I mean, right?" he asked as if expecting to receive a verbal reply from the unhatched pokemon. "It just sucks ass here." He sat up for the first time in two hours and let out an exasperated sigh. "Aaaaaghh! I wish something would happen. Is that too much to ask?"

The egg gave him no response whatsoever and did absolutely nothing.

"You're right. We'll accomplish nothing if we keep sitting here." The dark-haired young man jumped from his spot as if a surge of energy had suddenly bolted through him. "Let's go watch some bad infomercials before mom hogs the TV!" He carefully picked up the egg, which was partially wrapped in an insulated blanket, and left the dimly-lit room that had contained him for an unknown amount of time.

Upon entering the main area of the house, Gold was stopped in his tracks as he noticed his mother completely absorbed in a call she had received on her PokeGear.

"That sounds fantastic, Mitzi!" she exclaimed, not even trying to hide the look on her face that was far more enthusiastic than her son's. "No, no, I can be ready in a flash. Let Olivia and Kiki know that I'll be good to go in half an hour."

Gold instantly felt as though he'd walked straight into the middle of a heated plan-in-action. His mom's friends were weird. What were they trying to do this time? It was a known fact that they could make some pretty out-of-the-blue arrangements, but nothing got his mother this eager to drop her housework and evacuate the premises on such short notice. Something big was going on and it was already decided that he was going to eavesdrop like it was part of his job-description.

"Don't worry a bit, Mitz," the stirred-up woman continued, "Gold's 18, now! He's perfectly capable of taking care of the house while I'm gone. He won't run off, either. He said he'd be helping an egg hatch all through the winter at home."

Alright, why the hell was she talking about the egg? He wasn't in this. His egghood was none of her concern!

"I'm serious. It's fine," assured the overly-confident mother. She paused, letting her friend speak before she completely wrapped up the conversation. "Alrighty! I'll see you soon! Okay. Okay. Bye!"

As soon as she brought her call to a full conclusion, she rose her head and the sight of Gold's suspicious expression startled her.

"So, we couldn't help but overhear something about you going somewhere with your weird, soccer-mom friends…" the young man blurted out like a officer who had plans to interrogate a criminal.

"First of all, don't scare me like that! And who's "we?"

"Me and the egg, mom. Don't change the subject. What's going on?" Gold wasn't having it today. He was ready to solve a full-blown mystery after spending so much time stewing in his room for who-knows-how-long.

Gold's mother paused briefly, thinking about the best way to let the young man in on her newly-developed plans. "Well," she began, Gold's listening ear now hanging on her every word, "I was… kind of invited to spend the next few months in Kalos with the girls…" She spoke in a way that implied she didn't want a negative reaction, even though she was almost certain Gold would completely flip out.

"WHAT!?" Spat the young man, his eyes widening at the news that was presented to him. He sat his egg on the nearest surface and displayed a puzzled expression to his unpredictable mother.

"Gold, it's not that bad, I promise!"

"Not that bad? There's a chance you'll be gone until the beginning of next year! You can't just ditch the entire region without inviting me!"

"Just listen," suggested the mother, motioning for her son to take a seat on the tacky, floral-print sofa that happened to be the room's main attraction. As they both sat down, she laced her fingers together and rested her hands in her lap, hoping she could get through to the young man. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that doesn't benefit just me alone. It benefits you, as well, in more ways than one."

"How the fuck am I gaining anything from staying here?" Complained the disgruntled youth.

"Gold! Language."

"Ahhhhhhgh." Gold let out a groan, reiterating his inquiry with a slight adjustment. "How the FLIP am I gaining anything from staying here?"

"It's simple," the mother replied with ease, knowing exactly what she was about to say as daydreams of foreign cities danced in her head. "For one, you'll be getting the opportunity to run the house on your own. This will prepare you for life as a responsible adult when you decide to get out there and make a living for yourself!" She tore her hands apart and gave the dark-haired egg-hatcher two solid thumbs up. "Sounds cool, right?"

Gold said nothing.

"Think about the possibilities, will you? Meals will be under your control-"

"They're already under my control," Gold interrupted. "You stopped making things I wouldn't eat when I started staying home more often, remember?"

That was true. "Well, you can go to bed whenever you want!"

"Like I do now?" Gold questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Alright…. You could, uh…"

"Have a house party and bust open your liquor cabinet?" If anything, Gold sure knew how to get a rise out of the woman.

"No!"

"Just kidding, just kidding!" Gold laughed, surprised his mother even took him seriously. "Red told me alcohol might make me do something I regret."

"You're going to regret opening your big mouth if you keep being profane, you little ass!" Hiding a smile- badly, of course- she gave the young man a light shove. He really was too blunt for his own good!

"He also said it tasted like hot piss on fire," Gold added.

"Gold!"

"Alright, I'm finished. Anyways, what else do I gain from staying here while you have all the fun?"

The mother pondered for a brief moment and, before she knew it, a thought popped into her mind. "Well, you can follow your own rules and do everything at your own pace- within reason, however."

Gold paused, considered her proposal, and spoke with a sudden rise in interest. "So, for example, I don't have to wash dishes every night and I can leave the toilet seat up? How about I eat peanut butter out of the jar on the couch in my underwear?"

Just great. He caught her in a corner. Gold's mother, though she deemed such activities as cringe-worthy, had to grant him the privilege to do so. "As long as you clean up all your messes before I return home, do as you'd like- just as if you were living on your own."

"Can I even invite a friend over?"

That idea didn't seem too great, either, but how else was she to convince the stubborn male? "Only one that can be trusted not to steal anything. No house-parties, though!" She couldn't stress that enough. She was his age once; parties were a set-up for disaster.

"Okay, mom. I guess we have a deal, then."

Gold's mother nearly jumped for joy at this point. Success was evident! She was going to Kalos! "Oh, Gold, thank you!" She brought her son into one of her signature hugs and she could immediately feel the embarrassment radiating off of him.

Gold was too old for this. "Okay, mom. Stop. Not in front of the egg."

"I'm sorry; I'm just so excited."

"I would have never guessed," Gold joked. His mother let him go and he dramatically brushed himself off as if he had been incapacitated for far too long. That earned him a roll of the eyes.

"Now, before I start packing," the woman began, grabbing his attention once again, "I must mention that you do not need to leave the house unattended for too long."

Oh, great. She mentions this AFTER the agreement is set in stone. "Why not!? What if I require more snacks?"

"You can carry out basic errands, Gold, but please don't run all over Johto. I heard about some recent burglaries in Goldenrod City on the news and I don't want our house to become an open target if any criminals wander this way. Get what you need, come back home, and keep your pokemon within reach."

"Mom, I've got this," replied the young man with unwavering confidence. "Plus, that kind of thing is more common there, rather than a small place like New Bark Town." Upon mentioning such, he immediately paused and recalled an incident that took place a few years back. It was when the local pokemon professor was outright robbed by a boy named Silver. Once his rival, Silver was now a close friend of his and it still amazed him to this day how fate brought them together. Silver despised him at the start and refused to let down his gaurd at all costs. However, after a long string of events and shared experiences, Gold managed to get his foot into the doorway of Silver's world. New Bark Town had been free of theft ever since then and the young man believed that he, himself, should be the one to thank for that. His one-of-a-kind friendship with Silver could also take credit.

With that being known, his mother had nothing to worry about! Everything was completely under control.

"It's still good to be cautious," stated the mother, putting Gold's thoughts on hold. "Anyways, I'm about to go pack until my suitcase looks like it ate nothing but doughnuts for the past decade." She stood up and smoothed the long skirt she was sporting. "Let me know if anyone knocks on the door, alright?"

Gold nodded. "Righty-o, Momster." Then, she was gone.

Silence was introduced to the room and, without warning, his mind drifted back to Silver, whom he had not seen in a grand total of one week and three days.

What was he up to?

Where was he?

Although it was safe to say that Silver was most likely his closest friend in comparison to the others, Gold still couldn't help but wonder about him sometimes. He knew he had come a long way getting to know the young man over time, but he also knew there was far more to him than he was able to see.

Would there ever come a time where they could fill in the missing gaps?

Gold made it a future goal to know all he could about Silver and, though he wasn't sure why he wanted to do such a thing, he had long accepted that fact, as well as his growing interest in him. Was it Silver's naturally intriguing nature that caught his attention most or was it much more? Gold asked himself that a lot, but never really could pinpoint what drew him to Silver specifically.

Maybe he had to be patient and figure it out later. Everything was sure to make sense eventually; there was no doubt about it. Until then, Gold figured he'd just have to pass the time and take what he could get as it comes. It would do no good to dwell on unanswered questions when there was a perfect good, unoccupied television in front of him.

"Say, Eggy, you didn't think I had forgotten about those infomercials I was talking about, did you?" Gold asked out loud to the incoherent egg that was sitting on the coffee table. "Let's see what kind of crap those idiotic people are advertising today."

Snatching the universal controller up from where it sat on the cushion beside him, Gold quickly turned on the TV and began browsing through various channels. He was about to settle on one when a knocking sound could be heard over anything else in the room. Oh, great. Was he going to have to get up and open the door for someone?

"We're not home!" yelled the hatcher without an ounce of shame. Not even a minute after that, his mother appeared, pulling a bulky, rolling suitcase behind her as she scurried to the sound's source.

Gold remembered her request from earlier and decided to quickly fulfill it. "Oh, hey, mom. Someone's knocking on the door."

"Yeah. Too late to tell me, now, smartass," the mother joked, taking no time to open said door and reveal the face of her childhood friend- the one she was speaking with previously on her communication device. "Mitzi! It's so nice to see you!"

The woman smiled and gave Gold's mother a friendly embrace. "Oh, you, too! Are you ready?"

"I sure am!"

"Great," replied Mitzi, presenting an empty hand. "I'll handle your bag for you. The van we're traveling in is a little cramped, but I know just where to fit it so we can hurry up and get on that ship!" She took hold of the luggage and quickly glanced into the house. "Hi there, kiddo!"

Surely she wasn't talking to Gold. "I don't know who you're addressing. There aren't any kids here, as you can tell by my manly features."

"Gold! Be nice!" Snapped his mother, looking back at him with a frown.

Gold sighed. "Hi, Mrs. Mitzi," he mumbled with a blatant lack of interest. He received a giggle from her in return, which was to be expected because that woman was always ridiculously jovial.

"That's a little better... I guess." Gold's mother narrowed her eyes at him, only to have him stick his tongue out at her as Mitzi stepped away to carry out her promise. "Now, you have my number in your PokeGear. Call me if you need anything at all. If things get really bad, you know where your grandparents are."

"Mom. I'm pretty much an adult. I'm good." It was true; he could handle anything. Seriously!

"You know me; I have to make sure of everything."

Gold snorted. "I know. It's annoying."

"Oh, shut up." The mother stepped over to her son and brought him into yet another one of her lung-crushing hugs. "Be safe, okay? I'll keep in touch until I'm on my way back."

"Yeah, yeah," Gold managed to say, being freed right before he could feel his face turning blue. "You be safe, too, mom. I'll be here." He gave her a crooked smile- an oddly sincere one, at that- as she ambled toward the door in an almost nervous fashion.

"Well, I guess this is it. Bye, honey. I love you!"

"Bye, mom." The hatcher waved, a nonchalant look on his face suggesting that nothing out of the ordinary would occur in her absence. "Right back at 'ya." 


	2. Quality Programming

Passing Time - Chapter 02 - Quality Programming

Series: Pokemon Special (Adventures)

Ship: Preciousmetalshipping (Gold X Silver)

Rating: Mature

Story Summary: When Gold's mother decides to go on vacation, she leaves the house in Gold's care as a way of preparing him for life as a responsible young adult. Quickly bored with the task at hand, he convinces Silver to assist him during his time alone and things take a rather interesting turn.

Once the house had been void of motherly presence for a couple of wasted hours, Gold decided that flipping through various television channels wasn't all too exciting when he wasn't getting nagged at for being indecisive. He sighed, repeatedly pressing the 'forward' button on the controller with a steady rhythm, not satisfied at all with the selection he was being presented with. Just as soon as he was about to give up and head toward the kitchen to find a snack, the unexpected caused him to freeze in place. His channel-surfing came to an abrupt halt. "Oh, shit," he muttered under his breath as the theme-song of a familiar animated show began to sound out. The title, 'Proteam Omega,' flashed across the flat screen before him and all he could do was sit in place, silently anticipating what could possibly occur at any moment starting now.

If such a scene were to be observed by those unaware of Gold's personal life, it would appear as though he was simply excited about the show his eyes were fixed on. In actuality, this was not the case. Gold hated Proteam Omega about as much as he hated early mornings and lectures. He found it highly overrated and possessed generally negative feelings toward it that he had no problem expressing at any time of the day. Conversely, this did not apply at all to his close friend, Silver, who once described it as being 'quality programming.' Ever since the first episode was shown to the public, Silver had grown to make a strange habit out of watching it at Gold's house every time it aired and he did so without missing a single beat. Keep in mind that it was rare for the usually grumpy, introverted young man to set aside his issues and fail to conceal his enjoyment of something. Gold was one lucky bastard for getting to see him do so on a regular occasion with the help of this dumb cartoon. In an odd way, that fact alone sort of made dealing with it all the more bearable.

As he sat through the show's opening credits, he studied the artwork with a look of slight confusion. Today's episode of Proteam Omega seemed to be a new one, which was odd because, judging from what he could remember, the first season of it had been recently concluded. He must have been more behind than he believed, which really wasn't any surprise. Realizing that, Gold held his breath and mentally counted down the seconds until Silver's inevitable arrival. Before he reached number one, the front door swung open dramatically.

There he was. Silver had been summoned.

"Hey! What a surprise! How's my buddy doing?" asked Gold, being blatantly ignored as Silver rushed past him, finding a spot on the floor to sit so he could see nothing but the television. The door was still wide open and Gold took it upon himself to get up and close it. He wouldn't dare come between Silver and his beloved show- not at all! Well, maybe he did at odd times, but he swore it was completely unintentional. "I had no clue you were going to show up," the hatcher joked, returning to the couch. That was a big, fat lie. Gold felt that throwing in some light sarcasm would earn him a laugh, but he knew his effort was futile when nothing of the sort happened. Nine times out of ten, sarcasm only worked for Silver and he knew that.

"You should have been keeping up," Silver suggested in a tone that was much more serious than that of his goofier half. "The season two premier was set to launch today. I notified you about that during my last visit."

Oh, right. He did say something along those lines, didn't he? Gold wasn't paying much attention, obviously. "I forgot," the dark-haired young man admitted. "In my defense, I at least checked the channels for it. It's a good thing I did, too, because I-"

"Shut up." Silver was in no mood today. "I already missed the introduction due to my delayed arrival. I don't need you getting in the way of the rest."

Gold went quiet in response to Silver's hostile command, but then spoke once a spark of curiosity hit him. "Wait. What 'delayed' you?"

Silver frowned at the badly-timed inquiry, but resolved it nonetheless. "Got held up."

"Oh, please be more vague," begged the egg-hatcher, putting his bad sense of humor to use once again with another sarcastic remark. Silver turned briefly and narrowed his eyes at him. It usually took a lot to peel those stone-grey orbs away from Proteam Omega while it was on, but Gold had the ability to do so without much effort. Only a very special kind of person like him could pull that stunt and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. "Sorry. I'll be real with you this time," he said, perfectly aware of the fact that Silver had no current interest in speaking. "Please be LESS vague. In other words, come on down to Elaboration Nation, my dude!"

Silver let out a sigh that heavily reflected the amount of frustration he was harboring. He had bad taste in friends. "Look. It's nothing."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it's something." The dark-haired young man grinned. He was lucky he wasn't injured yet.

"Alright," Silver shot him a glare that could send small children running. "If you HAVE to fucking know, some idiot driver almost hit me with a van."

Well, that was pretty intense. Gold almost didn't believe the young man. Then, a notion struck him. His mom left in a van and her friends weren't exactly sane. It'd be no surprise to him if they were the ones to blame for Silver's hindrance. According to some stories he heard a long time ago, those wild women used to get into all sorts of trouble when it came to vehicles. That's why Gold still didn't have one at his age. Though, it was probably for the best...

When nothing was said directly after Silver spoke, the red-haired young man finally thought he'd be able the view his favorite show in peace. He had no idea what was going on, but it never took him long to get caught up. Much to his dismay, however, Gold's voice intruded his mind before he even got a chance to.

"Dude, that was probably my mom and her weird friends."

Okay, enough was enough. Silver was already having a pretty bad day and this just pushed him closer to the edge. He got up, turned off the television, and faced Gold, crossing his arms. "You're damn lucky there's going to be a second showing of this. Hurry up and say everything you need to say. Get it all out while you have the chance because I am NOT missing out again."

Gold clasped his hands together, a dumb look plastered all over his face. "Actually, that was pretty much it, but I sure do love when I have your undivided attention!" exclaimed the hatcher.

Silver wasn't exactly in a state of elation and he made damn sure that was obvious. "Maybe I should go somewhere else."

"Woah, hold up." Separating his butt from the couch, Gold stepped in between the red-head and the door, hoping to keep him contained that way. "You know as well as I do that my house is the only place you can watch Proteam Omega."

"I can just as easily go to a Pokemon Center and watch it there."

"They're always packed and not everyone watches that show," the egg-hatcher retaliated, trying to sound as convincing as he possibly could.

Silver frowned. He was afraid to admit that was a pretty good point. Nevertheless, he was clever enough to indirectly run off any obstructing crowds and claim the Center's public television long enough to watch his show. Then, he'd be on his merry way and no harm would be done. "I can get around that," he said simply.

Gold felt a slight pang of desperation, which was a tad off-putting for him considering his otherwise independent personality. On top of that, he was fresh out of excuses. He couldn't let Silver leave this soon after just arriving. It had been too long since they last caught up! Plus, it was no secret that Gold enjoyed having him around, even if he was a total asshole 75% of the time. He wasn't about to ruin anything just because of a stupid cartoon. "Yeah, well... Please don't go."

A pair of big, amber eyes silently begged for Silver to extend his visit and it was a little sad, but Silver let out a grumble of defeat and gave in like he always seemed to do when he was in Gold's company. "Fine, whatever," he mumbled, sitting back down in the floor as Gold flashed him a smile that made him feel kind of weird. Sometimes, he wondered what it was that kept Gold so interested in him, even after several years of knowing one another. He could cling on to anyone else in the world, but nope. Silver was 'The Chosen One.' It was gross... and maybe the tiniest bit flattering. Maybe.

"Then, it's settled! You're stuck here," announced the hatcher, retrieving his egg and plopping down next to his best buddy, who was clearly unenthused.

"Don't push it," Silver warned. The television was still off and Gold took this chance to strike up a conversation. Now was the best time to, considering that Silver gave him consent to spill his thoughts before Proteam Omega came back on. "So, how have you been?" He asked, instantly wishing he'd thrown a better question at the red-head. He should have started off by asking more about the incident with the van. Damn! That would've been good.

Silver wasn't sure how to respond at first. "Um... fine, I guess. Why is my wellbeing your concern?"

"Because, as your friend, it is in my best interest to care; duh! Don't be dumb, Silv," said Gold playfully, nudging the young man next to him.

Silver winced at the nickname. In that instant, he recalled all the times Gold decided to pin one on him out of nowhere like it was a 'normal' thing to do. Although he was relatively used to 'Silv,' seeing as it was most commonly used, he still hated it. Even more so, he hated all of the nicknames Gold tried to get 'creative' with. That guy could sure come up with some interesting ones and there was no doubt about it. Silvster, Silly-Sil, Captain Grumpy, Silbro, and the list went on. Needless to say, they were all horrible.

"Are you hungry?" Asked Gold suddenly, noticing a rumbling sensation in his stomach. "I'm sure getting that way, myself. I could make us a sandwich."

"What?" Silver looked a little shocked.

"I could make us a sandwich," repeated the hatcher, then he caught the fault in his statement. "Shit. I meant I could make us a sandwich each. I didn't imply we'd be sharing one... unless you want to, of course." He gave a comedic wink and Silver grimaced at the mental image of eating a sandwich after him. One of the many things Gold was notorious for was being a slob. When he ate, he made sure to tear into his food like he was a famished predator that just caught the prey he'd been pursuing for hours. Also, he rarely remembered to close his mouth while chewing, which was quite an issue for anyone who joined him during mealtime.

"No, thanks," Silver said. He had a few berries earlier.

Gold felt a little disheartened. "Oh, come on. I'm a great cook. My sandwiches are top-notch, grade A works of art!"

"They're really not," Silver replied, his brutal honesty taking a swing at Gold's oversized ego. "I don't think putting chocolate chips and marshmallow cream between two slices of bread counts as an actual sandwich."

"Hey! Don't talk smack about my creations!" Gold defended. "It's not my fault I have a refined palate." He let out a dramatic sigh, perfectly aware of how ignorant he was being. " Ahh; sometimes, my gift can be a curse."

"Well, keep your 'gift' to yourself."

"I guess I'll have to," Gold replied, casually crossing his legs so that he could stand his egg up in his lap. "The world just isn't ready for more of my brilliance. It sucks, doesn't it, Eggy?" He looked down at the unborn creature, speaking to it as if his words could somehow pass through the rock-hard shell that encased it.

This seemed to confuse Silver, causing him to change the subject. "That pokemon can't hear you, you know," he deadpanned.

"Yes, he can," Gold blurted out. "Well, at least I'd like to believe he can! What's wrong with that?"

"It's an egg."

Gold scoffed. "Excuse you, sir. You seem to forget that I'm 'The Hatcher.' Caring for these jokers in order to help young pokemon enter the world is, like, my ultimate specialty," he said with more confidence than necessary. "So, yeah. I know my shit. Mr. Eggy here can sense the vibrations I'm giving off as I display a certain emotion and, if you think outside the lines, that kind of counts as 'hearing' me. In other words, when I speak what I feel, he can pick up on that energy. The same goes for any other egg I decide to raise until it's final stage. You wouldn't know these cool-ass bonds because you're not a hatching extraordinaire like me," Gold bragged, feeling like he just taught his friend a valuable lesson like some kind of highly-educated professor.

Rolling his eyes, Silver didn't try to rationalize or even consider what his eccentric friend said. Sure, Gold knew more about hatching eggs than he did, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. Gold had the tendency to over-exaggerate everything and, on most occasions, it was hard to determine whether he needed to be taken seriously or not. "You know what?" The red-head asked.

"What?"

"You and your egg are full of shit."

Gold gasped, putting his hands on each side of his egg as if it had ears for him to cover up. "Don't say that! You're going to hurt his poor, eggy feelings and then he'll take longer to hatch... The last thing this little guy needs is for you to, you know, scramble his heart and sprinkle your salty attitude all over it," said Gold. He almost sounded serious until he decided to turn his remark into a distasteful egg-joke. A concise wave of silence fell over them and then Gold broke it with an unavoidable bout of laughter. "Pfffffttt. Oh, man. HAH! Get it? Scramble?"

"I can't believe you," Silver stated.

"Yeah, that was a little morbid," admitted the hatcher, giving his egg a few comforting pats. "Don't worry, bud. Nobody's getting scrambled, sauteed, fried, cooked over-easy, made into an omelette, or anything of the like. You are going to hatch into a big, strong... whatever you are." He smiled, imagining what kind of creature was slowly developing before him. Was it a larvitar that would eventually evolve into the mightiest, fearsome tyranitar? Was it a small, delicate skitty that would crush it's foes with cuteness? Perhaps it was a spooky, little misdreavus that could use it's ghostly form to play pranks on the neighbors. Whatever that egg was destined to become, Gold knew he wanted it to be his friend. He would care for it just as much as his other pokemon, who were currently taking a long break from their training at the daycare center he frequented.

"So," Silver said, putting an end to Gold's sudden daydreaming. "You never mentioned where your mom went."

That's right! Gold completely forgot. He was getting good at forgetting, as of late, and he shamelessly blamed it on the weather. "Oh, yeah! She's gone for several months on a trip to Kalos. It happened really unexpectedly, too. I just walked downstairs and she was in the middle of planning it with her friend," the dark-haired young man explained.

This couldn't be good. "Let me get this straight," the red-head began, "your mom left the region and she's trusting you to stay here in her home... by yourself." Surely, there was more to the story.

"Yeah." Gold confirmed. "She said she wanted me to practice managing a household on my own. It's kind of like 'adult-training.' I don't know if I like it yet or not, but I kind of had to agree to do it."

"Why?" Finally, their conversation was getting a little more interesting. Silver was intrigued, and a little frightened at the idea of Gold having to deal with adult-like responsibilities.

Laying out the scenario to the best of his abilities, Gold tried to be as straightforward as possible. "Well, mom never gets out and I've been stuck at home ever since I found Mr. Eggy. It's gonna be getting too cold to be out-and-about with an egg, so I made the decision to postpone my travels until spring. She knew about that, so she asked me to staying here while she had her fun and that about sums it up. We're both going out on a limb with this, but it's a new experience and something might be gained from it, I guess. At least I get to call the shots around here for a while and pretend like I've got my own pad." He made a 'thumbs-up' gesture, implying that all was good. "Man, I'm going to be so lazy and I just might eat an entire cake before bed. Who knows!?"

"I see..." the red-headed young man replied, letting that information sink in even though it was a little difficult to comprehend. He then took a second to steal a quick glance at the digital alarm-clock that sat on a shelf next to the television. It read: '5:46PM' and his grey eyes widened a little. New episodes of Proteam Omega were usually played at 6:00PM for the dedicated viewers who were unable to see the 5:00PM showing. With that practically encoded in his mind, he wasted no time as he suddenly smashed the television's personal 'on' button with his thumb, causing the screen to light up and cast a luminous glow over his face. In less than twenty minutes, he would be witnessing first-hand the season two premiere of Proteam Omega. This was monumental.

"Whoa, is it already coming back on?" asked Gold, not aware of how long they had been talking.

Silver nodded, refusing to look away from the screen. He wasn't going to miss a single thing this time around. He already knew what he was going to do if Gold interrupted even once. To say the least, it wasn't pretty.

Gold took this as his cue to make needed preparations. He knew the drill. "I guess I'll go get the snacks and some pop. Any requests?"

"Just your silence during this episode," answered Silver. He had never been more sure of anything in his life.

"Is that all?"

Silver contemplated for a second. It was hard to focus on his stomach when his head was packed full of Proteam Omega fan-theories. "Something sweet... that isn't one of your strange concoctions."

"Got it. I'll grab mom's pecha berry pie." Gold dashed into the kitchen to gather up some choice consumables. In doing so, he couldn't help but reflect on the big agreement he and his mother made after being reminded about it by Silver. He mentally reviewed the whole scenario as he dug through the refrigerator, pulling out as many food items as he could cradle in his left arm. For once, he didn't have to hear any complaints that pertained to what he was doing and, in all honesty, it was kind of nice.

He could really get used to this, especially if Silver was able to share all his new privileges with him.

Gold paused, a notable thought suddenly sticking out to him as he reached for an entire case of soda cans. It was almost as if he could hear his mom's voice in his head as he instantly recalled her giving him permission to have a friend visit. That led him to quite an interesting conclusion. It was never determined how long his friend of choice could stay. What if Gold took that to his advantage and decided for himself? Adults sometimes had roommates, right?

What if he followed that trend and elected Silver as his roommate?

A smile crept onto the hatcher's face as he knew exactly what he was going to do next. He was setting himself up for one hell of a challenge, but it was definitely one he'd gladly take on. Piling all of the consumables onto a conveniently-sized dinner-tray, he carefully toted it into the living room just as the clock read: '5:55PM.' He took in the image of Silver staring a hypothetical hole through the television as he cleared his throat, ready to propose his incredibly rash idea.

"Hey, Silv," Gold called out, hoping to capture an ounce of Silver's attention before he was completely sucked into his show. "Can I say one little thing before I have to go mute for half an hour?"

"Make it quick," Silver said, figuring it was something food-related and not of severe importance. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"I think it'd be really cool if you moved in." 


	3. Natural Disaster

Passing Time - Chapter 03 - Natural Disaster

Series: Pokemon Special (Adventures)

Ship: Preciousmetalshipping (Gold X Silver)

Rating: Mature

Story Summary: When Gold's mother decides to go on vacation, she leaves the house in Gold's care as a way of preparing him for life as a responsible young adult. Quickly bored with the task at hand, he convinces Silver to assist him during his time alone and things take a rather interesting turn.

The inconvenient presence of tension could be felt between Gold and Silver during the entire episode of Proteam Omega. It existed mostly on Silver's side of the spectrum, but it was still a problem for Gold, who wanted so badly to get an answer out of his friend. Much to his displeasure, he had to sit in silence until the credits rolled before asking his question again. The suspense was killing him.

"So, how about it? Wanna stay over for, like, a few months? It'll be fun, I swear!" Gold made his best effort to sound as convincing as possible, but something within him knew Silver wasn't going to cave in so easily. That guy was too much of a 'lone ranger' to suddenly set his freelancing aside for an extended stay at a former-rival's house. It pained Gold to think he'd possibly be getting nowhere with all of this, but the egg-hatching extraordinaire wasn't exactly the type to quit after a failure or two. He was always prepared for a good challenge.

As the show's credits finally met their conclusion, Silver slowly turned to Gold with a perturbed expression plastered onto his face. He clearly didn't enjoy sitting through a highly-anticipated event after having a load of pressure dumped on him without warning. To say the least, Gold's rash proposal was horribly timed and poorly executed; it was almost shocking to him that he managed to put off acknowledging it until now. That was precisely because Gold wasn't the kind of person that had patience for anything. Much to his misfortune, Silver knew that from experience. He could tell by the look in the young man's eyes that he was practically dying inside from the wait.

It was gross.

"Come on. The show's over," stated Gold, confirming the already-confirmed. "Please say 'yes' and stick around with me."

Silver crossed his arms and gave the most direct answer he could muster up. "No."

Within that moment, Gold's whole world seemed to shatter and reassemble itself all at once. "Damn, it! You're bustin' my balls, man! Just give this a shot. It won't kill you to switch up your routine once and a while, you know!"

"You're right," replied Silver.

Gold froze. "I am?"

"Yeah... no. I'm heading out. Bye."

"Oh." Well, that was it. Gold tried. If Silver was set in his ways, there wasn't much more he could do. He had to sit back and watch helplessly as his stubborn, cold friend left him alone to wallow in his unrelenting boredom that would undoubtedly grow as the days progressed. House-sitting suddenly seemed like a very bad idea and he was pretty sure he wanted to abandon his duties by now. Forget responsibility. Sure, he had his pokemon as company and they were more than enough, but he needed human interaction, too. More specifically, he needed interaction with Silver. He was still very far from discovering the real reason why, but he didn't care. That was just how the ship sailed.

The dark-haired egg-hatcher was abruptly jerked away from his thoughts as a loud noise erupted out of nowhere. It was dangerously similar to thunder, and it was followed closely by the familiar pitter-patter of rain. Was this the beginning of a storm?

Cool.

"Woah, there, Delilah. I didn't know we were going to have some funky weather today. That's pretty whack, don't ya think?" Asked Gold, his amber eyes lighting up as a pang of hope shot through him. "I guess that means... you have to chill here, my dude. Sit back down and watch some low-budget movies with me."

Silver looked unaffected. "I can handle the rain. I'm not some weak little child like you."

"Hey, not nice! I can endure some wild shit, bud. You don't even know." Gold crossed his arms. "I'm just proposing an idea that's far more preferable than getting rained on in the cold. Sheesh. It's not exactly summer anymore, you know."

"It doesn't even sound that bad," the red-head pointed out. It was just a little rain and some light thundering, right? Easy. Silver could handle anything life threw at him. After all, he had been through plenty of worse situations.

"Yeah, well..."

BEEEEEEEEEP!

Gold paused, blatantly interrupted by an alarm-like sound that emitted from the television. In all honesty, it occured with impeccable timing because, sure enough, Gold was about to embarass himself with a bad comeback. Maybe fate was on his side today. It was either that or dumb luck. "What the flop is this, now?" He asked, relieved to change the subject.

Cutting into the middle of their petty squabble, a New's Flash popped up on the flat screen that was displayed before the two young men and their attention was suddenly brought to an emergency weather forecast. The man who was supplying the information quickly informed all viewers that storms were approaching and that they were estimated to persist for several hours up to a few days.

"To all of you who reside in the rural parts of Johto, please remain indoors until the rugged weather subsides. Reports say there is a chance of flooding amongst the other obstructions that have already been established," warned the man, clad in a suit and tie that gave away the vibes of an official who preactically existed to be taken seriously.

Gold couldn't contain his excitement. "OHHHHHH! In your FACE!" He exclaimed, sticking his tongue out at Silver's blank expression. Upon realizing that his outburst obviously wasn't appreciated, he straightened his posture and casually glanced over his shoulder at nothing. "I mean, whatever. Go ahead, buddy. Have fun swimming."

What a dumbass.  
Silver couldn't believe he still put up with this guy. Gold must really want him to stay if he's willing to make this much of a fool of himself. Unusually enough, this isn't the only occasion where this sort of occurence had taken place. There were countless other times that Silver could recall where Gold had put what little dignity he had left on the line for the sake of spending time with him. Perhaps Silver should just cut him some slack... He couldn't keep watching the screwball embarrass himself for much longer, even if it was slightly humorous ('slightly' being the key word here). "Fine. You got me," he mumbled, finally letting his former-rival win. It was hard watching him struggle.

Wait. What?

"Are you serious?" questioned Gold, completely engulfed in confusion at Silver's abrupt change-of-heart. "You're going to stay?"

The red-head nodded. "Don't piss yourself. I'm only staying until the mess outside clears up. Then, I'll be on my way."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Suuuure." Gold, instantaneously empowered by his amazing charisma and persuasion-skills, smirked, his cockiness refueled. "Once you discover how comfortable it is here, you'll never want to go back to living in the wild."

Silver scrunched up his nose. "You make it sound like I'm primitive. It's nothing like that and you know it, jerk."

"Yeah, I'm just yankin' your balls. So, whatcha wanna do?"

"Hmm..." Nothing came to Silver's mind other than the fact that he was a tad famished, thanks to Gold who scarfed down nearly everything he had brought into the room before the new episode of Proteam Omega began. The thought of taking a hot shower didn't sound half bad, either. If he had to stay here, he needed to take full advantage of all household privileges before he hit the road. He'd be stupid not to. "I suppose something to eat couldn't hurt... I want real food, though, not junk this time."

At first, Gold wanted to defend his mother's pie, but he quickly abandoned that idea because, yeah, pie was technically considered junk-food. His mom wasn't exactly a nutritionist in the kitchen, either. Because of that, he thanked Arceus for his high metabolism on a daily basis. "Ohhh. High maintenance, now, are we?" He teased.

"It's your fault," Silver retaliated, taking no blame whatsoever. "You're the one who begged me to stay here. You can at least make this worth my time." The ghost of a smirk crossed his face, but it quickly faded when Gold remained unaffected.

"It's totally cool, Silv. I can make a mean spaghetti," the egg-hatcher replied, now faced with the challenge of impressing Silver with his knowledge of cooking. He didn't exactly have any first-hand experience in the field of spaghetti-making, but it couldn't be that hard, right? He watched his mom cook it just the night before. He wasn't exactly paying attention to what she was saying the entire time, but he could kind of remember the steps. No problemo!

It would be a lie to say Silver wasn't a little shocked to hear those words come out of Gold's big mouth. He couldn't cook. There was no way in hell. "I didn't say I wanted to be poisoned."

"I'm serious! Give a man some faith!" The hatcher knew he could do it. He could feel it in his bones. He was geared up and ready to go like a pro! "If your not satisfied, I will sleep on the couch and you can have my bed tonight."

"Ew. I'd rather sleep in the rain."

Gold frowned. "Okay. You call the shots, then."

Silver pondered for a second. He wanted to set the bars high, but he didn't want to make Gold suffer too much. He wasn't heartless; he just didn't take any shit. "If your spaghetti sucks, you have to make up for it... and you can't cry like a little bitch when I decide to resume my traveling."

Damn. Gold didn't like the sound of that, but a deal's a deal, right? "Okay, but I won't screw it up. I'm using my mom's secret recipe! It's 100% edible, I promise."

"Fine. Suit yourself. I'm going to take a shower in the meantime. I'm sure you don't care that I... make myself at home." Silver grimaced as he spoke, like the words coming out of his mouth tasted as bad as he expected Gold's spaghetti to.

"It's all good," Gold assured. Before they parted ways, he said one last thing. "You can go grab a change of clothes in my room. They're clean, I promise. Mom did laundry before she left."

Silver almost shot the idea down, but he knew Gold's mother always kept things like clothes and dishes clean for the most part, despite having a son like Gold. If anything, he figured he'd scope the inventory and settle with something he rarely ever saw his friend wearing... just until he washed the clothes he owned. "Okay. I better not find anything gross in your room."

"You probably will," replied the hatcher, remembering the unidentified sandwich that had been sitting on his dresser for two weeks. After that, it was time to get to work. He was going to put together a slammin' dinner and it was going to blow Silver's lid, for sure!

Once Gold was ready to make some magic in the kitchen, all of the confidence he seemed to accumulate began to slowly trickle away as he became aware of the arsenal of cooking-instruments his mother owned. Stored neatly in every drawer, there were copious amounts of familiar and unfamiliar utensils; pots, pans, and small appliances filled the cabinets and, to be honest, he couldn't even pin a name on most of them, let alone figure out their purpose. Gold had no idea where to begin with all of these. Thinking back, he tired to remember the exact procedure his mom carried out that last time she cooked spaghetti for him, but all he could remember was getting yelled at for eating a raw noodle before they had a chance to be boiled.

Then, it hit him.

How could he possibly forget? The first step was boiling the noodles! Of course!

Gold made no haste as he pulled the top off the container his mom dedicated to dry pasta storage. There, he uncovered the remainder of the spaghetti noodles that had yet to be cooked. They must have been left over from the bulk-pack that was purchased during the family's most recent grocery store trip. Much to Gold's benefit, there appeared to be more than enough of them, so he and Silver would be having a complete meal with possible leftovers. Nice.

That was exactly what he was hoping for.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road," the young man said, casting a quick glance at his shelled companion- the egg- as it sat undisturbed in the baby-seat that Gold used as a child. The fact that such a thing still existed in this household was a mystery to him, but it suited his egg just fine. Therefore, he had no need to further question it's presence.

He pulled a large pot out of the drying-rack that sat on the counter and turned on the sink to fill it up with water. After doing so, he sat it on the stove and casually dumped the noodles in it, mentally telling himself that he was on the right track. As he carried out those simple tasks, he noticed that the water-level had risen to the brim of the pot, but that was okay, right? Gold figured it would just boil out slower, which had to be beneficial. Too much water was better than not enough, and with that in mind, he knew he was going about this correctly. Silver was going to eat the heck out of this food when he was finished!

Hooray for positive thinking!

Now, it was time to decide the temperature-setting on the stove. "What do you think I should put this on, Eggy?" Gold asked, looking over his shoulder at the egg.

In all seriousness, the dark-haired young man didn't actually expect a response, so he answered for the egg, putting a hand over his mouth before raising his voice to a higher pitch. "I don't know, Big Daddy. How 'bout you crank that junk up?"

"Good idea, bud!" exclaimed Gold in his normal voice, turning the knob on the stove until it couldn't turn any more. "You know, we should start a cooking-show," he said to the egg, grabbing a fork to stir around the stiff pasta. "It'll be called 'Johto Grub, Starring: Gold and The Great Eggsby.' What do you think, my dude?"

"Don't put that kind of pressure on me," Gold answered again for his egg using that same high-octave tone. He chuckled to himself afterward.

"Sorry, man. It was just a thought," he assured, shifting back to his default voice for good. While the noodles softened, he needed to prepare the sauce. That seemed to give light to a small issue. Was there even any spaghetti sauce he could use?

Gold told himself not to panic as he raced to the pantry and opened it up, revealing a plethora of canned goods, ranging from various soups to vegetables, fruit, and more. He let his eyes scan over the selection, sliding a few cans around until he discovered what looked like his best option. "Crushed tomatoes... I suppose this'll have to do. That's basically what spaghetti sauce is, right?" He looked at the egg, not bothering to do a voice-over for it this time. "Hah... Who am I kidding? Of course that's what spaghetti sauce is. I just need to find something to season it with."

Continuing his search within then pantry, he dug deeper to find a couple of spices that his mother used on a regular basis. The first one that caught his attention was chili powder, which was obviously for chili and not pasta-dishes, so that one was ruled out instantly. The second two, however, seemed like they would complement each other well. They were: garlic salt and oregano. Popping the tops off of both tubes containing said flavor-enhancers, Gold gave them a quick sniff and decided within that moment that they certainly made the cut. He also scooped up a container of dehydrated onions to kick it up a notch. Because Gold had exquisite taste in food, he just knew that specific blend would birth a mind-blowing sauce.

He sure felt like a master chef right now.

Without bothering to check on the noodles as they continued to do their thing, Gold retrieved a small pan to dump his sauce-ingredients in. He proceeded to dig around in the drawer beside the stove until he discovered a ladle that he could mix them together with. "Cool. Big spoon. Say, I bet you're glad I'm not making omelettes; am I right, Eggy?" Gold laughed, shooting a wink at his egg-friend. Within seconds after that, he heard a suspicious sizzling-noise and was shocked to see that the water he had filled up in the boiling-pot was bubbling over the top. Shit! Wasn't it supposed to evaporate or something? After all, he put in on the highest heat-setting.

What was going on? This kind of crap didn't happen to master chefs!

Shoving his prized sauce-mixture aside, the egg-hatcher grabbed onto the pot's stainless-steel handles, forgetting all about how he needed some form of heat-protection for such a task. "MOTHERFUCKER!" Scalding-hot and weighed down by at least one full pound of pasta, let alone far too much water, said pot slammed right back onto the hot stove as Gold's attention shifted to the abrupt burning of his hands. He yelled loud enough for Silver to hear him all the way from the house's second floor. "SON OF A BITCH!"

With the intention of grabbing the decorative towels that were hanging above the sink, he spun around frantically, making matters even worse as his elbow collided with the pan that contained his sauce. It fell directly to the floor with a loud 'clang' and the flustered young man didn't even want to process what just occured. Usually confident in all situations, Gold could safely say that he was about to flip out completely, especially because everything was going so well before this. Time was wearing thin and, before long, Silver was going to be expecting a finished meal. What was he going to do, now?

"Ahh, shit.." Gold's hands hurt like mad and he had to figure out a solution to this mess before it was too late.

His plan was quickly becoming a natural disaster that the storm outside couldn't even compare to. 


End file.
